Download Common Grammar Errors

Common Grammar Errors
Below are examples of grammar errors that most people make, and explanations for how to correct them when
you find them. You may consider that the content of the paper is more important than the mechanics, but
correcting the grammar errors in your paper is a sure way to improve it.
Ambiguous Pronouns
We all know how pronouns are supposed to work: they take the place of proper nouns (e.g. “she” instead of
Susan Sontag, “he” instead of John Berger). The problem occurs when there are multiple proper nouns to
which your pronoun could refer. In that case, you need to be careful to be as specific as possible to avoid
confusing the reader.
 AMBIGUOUS: “Mary and Martha are going to her house.” Are they going to Mary’s house or to
Martha’s house? How is the reader supposed to know?
 CLEAR: “Mary and Martha are going to Martha’s house.”
 AMBIGUOUS: “Berger discusses what reproductions do to the original artwork and basically says that
it is wrong.” What is “it”?
 CLEAR: “Berger sees no value in reproductions, and says that they destroy the uniqueness of the
original.” If you can avoid using words such as “it” and “thing” altogether, you will find that your
writing gets clearer and clearer.
Comma Usage
You may have learned that you should use a comma to represent a pause. This idea is misleading and will
cause you to place commas where they do not belong. You use a comma to fill the following grammatical
functions:
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separate items in a list (I went to the store to buy brushes, watercolors, paper and an easel.)
join an independent and a dependent clause (I woke up with a gasp, leaving my strange dream
unfinished.)
set off introductory or interruptive phrase (As always, I waited until the last minute to study. One of my
favorite authors, Octavia Butler, broke down the gender-color barrier in science fiction writing.)
punctuate dates, cities and states (December 25, 2008. New York, NY.)
combine with conjunctive words to create complex sentences using two or more independent clauses
(The first three Twilight films made plenty of money, so the producers split the last book into two films,
hoping to increase their profits.
to separate certain adjectives. If you can insert the word “and” between the adjectives and maintain a
logical structure, you can use a comma. (the tall, handsome stranger)
Incomplete Sentences/ Fragments
An incomplete sentence is usually the result of writing exactly what we’re thinking. Example: “I have to go to
the store today. Need to pick up apples and bananas.” That second sentence is incomplete; it’s missing a
subject. As you read over your paper, ask yourself who is doing what in each sentence. If you can’t come up
with a full answer, you have an incomplete sentence. A fragment is a dependent clause, a list, a phrase or any
piece of a sentence that does not form a complete sentence on its own.
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FRAGMENT: The rain in Spain falls. mainly, on the plain.
COMPLETE SENTENCE: The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.
FRAGMENT: Because they both use death as a theme.
COMPLETE SENTENCE: We can compare Sylvia Plath to Emily Dickinson because they both use
death as a theme.
Passive Sentences
Passive sentences can be confusing and misleading. Active sentences are clearer, and therefore stronger. A
passive sentence is one in which the subject is either lost somewhere in the sentence or is not there at all.
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PASSIVE: The work didn’t get done. (It may seem as though “the work” is the subject here, but ask
yourself this: is “work”, an uncountable abstract noun, capable of “doing” anything? If the answer is no,
then it isn’t really functioning as a subject.)
ACTIVE: I didn’t do the work.
PASSIVE: It was said in the essay that reproductions destroy the uniqueness of original paintings.
ACTIVE: Berger states that reproductions destroy the uniqueness of original paintings.
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Run-on Sentences
Run-on sentences fuse independent clauses without correct punctuation. The only ways to correct a run-on
sentence are to break it into smaller sentences using end-punctuation (i.e. periods or question marks), use a
semicolon or use a comma ALONG with a conjunction word.
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RUN-ON: Sontag has a problem with cameras she compares them to weapons.
CORRECTED: Sontag has a problem with cameras. She compares them to weapons.
RUN-ON: Bordo says that magazines don’t mean her when they talk about women her age who are
beautiful they mean actresses who have had plastic surgery.
CORRECTED: Bordo says that magazines don’t mean her when they talk about women her age who are
beautiful; they mean actresses who have had plastic surgery.
RUN-ON: Berger writes that reproductions de-value the original, in fact they make the original even
more unique.
CORRECTED: Berger writes that reproductions de-value the original, but in fact, they make the original
even more unique.
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Verb Tenses
Use the same verb tense throughout a sentence unless you have a valid reason for switching (for example, if the
action in one clause is conditional: If it rains [present tense] today, then I will [future tense] not go camping
tomorrow.) Make sure that your verb tense corresponds to the time period about which you are writing. When
you write about a literary text, use the present tense, because the text itself always exists.
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INCORRECT: Since we’re in a recession, we had to be more careful with money.
CORRECT: Since we’re in a recession, we have to be more careful with money. OR: Since we
entered a recession, we’ve had to be more careful with money.
INCORRECT: In the past, countries fight wars to gain control of territories.
CORRECT: In the past, countries fought wars to gain control of territories.
INCORRECT: In Act I of Troilus and Cressida, Troilus said that Cressida’s beauty outshined Helen’s.
CORRECT: In Act I of Troilus and Cressida, Troilus says Cressida’s beauty outshines Helen’s.